


Yeesha Gets Suspended

by PhoenixAccio



Category: Myst Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Family Fluff, [looks at myst iv catherine] i pretend i do not see it, anna's parenting techniques, atrus is neurodivergent and you can pry this hc from my cold dead hands, atrus is trying his best, atrus was not the best parent to sirrus and achenar, catherine is referred to as katran because thats. like. her Actual Name, he deserved it tho dw, i guess?, katran uses the english version of her name in professional settings, no anglicisation in this house we use peoples actual names, sirrus and achenar are estranged not dead, vague mention of racism, yeesha gets suspended for punching a kid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:27:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26646748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixAccio/pseuds/PhoenixAccio
Summary: Yeesha had been sent home from school early that day. Again.Balancing the concepts of following the rules and standing up for your beliefs to a 12 year old who keeps fighting bigots at school is a tricky thing. Atrus is So Tired.
Relationships: Atrus/Catherine (Myst), just in the background - Relationship
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Yeesha Gets Suspended

**Author's Note:**

> who knows how yeesha would have turned out if she'd been exposed to other children? i choose to believe she would get in a lot of fights, child of water or otherwise

Yeesha had been sent home from school early that day. Again. Atrus had sighed when he'd gotten the call. It was only the second month of school, Yeesha was going to get expelled before her first year of "real school" was even up at this rate. Even if the school didn't particularly care about expelling--likely, since it wasn't exactly a zero-tolerance institution. Even Atrus wasn't naïve enough to enroll Yeesha somewhere like that. Both Atrus and Katran knew full well that if Yeesha thought rules were too oppressive she'd usually start breaking them on purpose, just because she could. Anna's genes mixed with Katran's, Atrus imagined, meant the rebellious streak and insurpressable need for justice were likely inevitable, but that didn't mean it wasn't annoying sometimes to be called out for double standards by your five year old daughter for complaining about your work when she can't complain about her own (even if she was right.)

Atrus, remembering suddenly where he was meant to be going, slammed on the brakes just in time to pull into the school's parking lot. Claiming a spot near the door, Atrus cut the engine, relieved not to have missed the turn and had to go all the way around the block again. It had happened too many times to be an anomaly, at this point, Atrus had just come to expect missing it.

Atrus shook his head, mentally setting himself back on task. Go into the school, talk to the principal, pick up Yeesha, go home. He could do that, easily. Atrus chose to ignore the trickier steps later that day, like finding a way to scold Yeesha without directly discouraging the behaviour ourside of school. He would cross that bridge when he got to it, though, it was fine.

Atrus pulled himself out of the car and headed for the school's doors, mentally rehearsing his lines.

"Hello?" he said to the bored-looking woman behind the reception desk.

"Uh... I'm here to pick up my daughter," he said awkwardly.

"Yeesha?" The receptionist asked immediately, sounding tired. "She's waiting in the counsellor's office. Down the hall, first door on the left."

Atrus nodded. "Thank you."

The receptionist hummed in response, looking back down at her magazine. Atrus headed down the hallway, following her directions. Upon reaching his destination, he slipped quietly into the guidance counsellor's office. Best to be diplomatic with these things, Atrus thought. Hopefully seeming as reasonable as possible would encourage leniency.

In the counselor's office, Yeesha slouched, arms crossed, in a padded black chair. Across the desk from her, a professionally dressed man flipped through paperwork.

"Hello," Atrus greeted, uncertain of the procedure.

"Ah, you must be Yeesha's father?" the counselor said, looking up from his work.

"Er, yes, I am." Atrus smiled awkwardly, nodding, and took the chair beside Yeesha's, her chair's twin except in colour--grey rather than black.

"What seems to be the issue then?" Atrus folded his hands in his lap to keep them still. He found other adults respected him more if his hands weren't constantly wandering, searching for little things to fiddle with.

"Your daughter punched another student," the counselor stated bluntly.

"He deserved it!" Yeesha protested, uncrossing her arms to grip her chair's hard plastic arms as she leaned forward.

"We cannot allow fighting amongst the student body," the counselor said, ignoring Yeesha.

"I have never known my daughter to be the sort to get into fights unprompted," Atrus frowned. "What, exactly, did the other student do _before_ Yeesha hit him?"

The counselor opened his mouth, then closed it, lips flattening to a tight line as he looked away. He hadn't asked.

"You cannot expect us to allow students to go around harming each other," the counselor said finally, annoyance clear in his tone even to Atrus, to whom such things had never come naturally. "No matter their reasoning. Yeesha has been suspended for three days, and it is expected she will face additional consequences at home for her behaviour."

Atrus wanted to argue at the injustice, but held himself back. He was here _specifically_ because Katran could not be trusted to have the same restraint. Katran was many things, but she was by no measure a diplomat. It simply did not come naturally to her, to be polite to people she did not respect.

Taking a deep breath, Atrus bit the bullet, promising to ask Yeesha about this properly later.

"I understand," Atrus said professionally. "My wife and I will talk to Yeesha about her behaviour, thank you for letting us know."

The counselor scoffed at the mention of Katran, but did not comment. Atrus held his tongue.

"As parents, it is important to the school's administration to keep you... and _Catherine,_ in the loop. We believe that what happens at home is a vital part of a child's educational experience, just as what happens at school."

Atrus frowned at the anglicization of his wife's name, although he knew it was the name she used in professional settings. He understood the school board was just following procedure, but the annoyance at the school's disregard for potential motive remained. Sighing, he dismissed the thought. This was just what the school system was like, he knew. It was why he and Katran had chosen to homeschool Yeesha until now. With the recent reconciliation with his eldest child, though, came awareness of what had gone wrong the first time around, and thus, school, and exposure to other kids Yeesha's age. The adjustment period was proving difficult, it seemed, but it would be good for Yeesha in the long term not to be quite so isolated from the world as her brothers had been growing up, as Atrus had before them.

"You're right," Atrus agreed, nodding politely to the man behind the desk. "Thank you for being so forgiving of Yeesha's behaviour while she adjusts to the new environment."

"Of course," the guidance counselor nodded, back in his comfort zone. "We understand that the transition from homeschooling to traditional school can be difficult for students. Unfortunately, coping with this stress through violence is inexcusable."

"I agree," Atrus said, pretending the statement was theoretical and not currently being applied to his daughter.

"Thank you so much for understanding," the counselor nodded. "Alright, you're free to take Yeesha home now. Hopefully this kind of thing will not become a... regular occurance."

"Yes, thank you for meeting with me." Atrus smiled, a preformance for an audience of one, and stood, gesturing to Yeesha to follow as he left the small room.

As soon as they reached the car, Yeesha began to complain.

"That was _so_ unfair! What's the point of punishing people for things they didn't even start? I bet they'd count self-defense as 'fighting' too, even if the other person hit you first!"

Atrus surpressed a grin, completely different from the polite smiles he'd given discussing Yeesha. It was amazing how much his daughter resembled Katran sometimes, especially in the rare moments when the normally calm, patient girl found something to yell about.

"You're right, Yeesha, that is unfair. It's wrong to punish someone for actions taken in self-defense. Why do you think that happens?"

Yeesha looked like she wanted to keep ranting, but they'd been doing this for long enough that Yeesha recognized when Atrus was trying to teach her something.

"I guess... maybe 'cause it's hard to tell who started something? People could lie and say someone hit them first when it's not true."

"That's true." Atrus nodded, encouraging Yeesha to continue along the train of thought.

"And maybe they don't want to worry about accusing the wrong person because somebody lied," Yeesha said thoughtfully. "In case the other kid's parents get mad."

"But wouldn't the parents get mad anyways?" Atrus asked, trying to prompt Yeesha to come to the logical conclusion. "What if they don't want their kid to get in trouble either?"

"Well..." Yeesha said, "I guess if they just punished everyone, they wouldn't have to worry about accusing the wrong person of starting the fight. If any parents got mad, the school could tell them they have to get everyone in trouble, no matter who started it."

Atrus smiled, pleased.

"I still think it isn't fair," Yeesha said resolutely. "You shouldn't get innocent people in trouble just 'cause you're scared to take sides."

Atrus chuckled, reaching over to squeeze Yeesha's shoulder playfully. There was that righteous streak again, right on time.

"So, what did that other kid do to deserve punching?" Atrus asked, starting the car as Yeesha fastened her seatbelt dutifully, staring at Atrus until he did the same.

"He was being mean to another kid," Yeesha scowled.

"What about?"

"Her accent. He was calling her mean names and saying she was dumb 'cause she wasn't good at English. So I punched him!"

Atrus suddenly understood how his wife had felt the first and only time she'd been allowed to pick Yeesha up when the school sent her home. Saying 'good' and immediately walking out with their daughter upon learning why Yeesha was in trouble seemed ever more tempting, even when the meeting had already ended. Atrus took a moment to gather his quickly fraying self-control before speaking.

"You know your mother and I don't like you fighting," Atrus said tentatively.

Yeesha gave him a Look. They both knew full well Katran would probably have done the exact same thing in Yeesha's place. Yeesha dismissed it though, allowing Atrus to pretend both he and Katran were Very Disappointed In Her.

"I know," Yeesha conceded, drawing out the words in a parody of a forlorn sigh.

"You shouldn't hit people at school, you need to learn to stand up to people with your words, not with violence."

"Yes, Dad," Yeesha recited, surpressing a grin. They both knew Atrus was just going through the motions of disciplining her. Atrus appreciated her effort to keep up the charade.

"Next time something like this happens, how are you going to handle it?" Atrus asked.

Yeesha paused, grinning.

"I'm... probably gonna hit them again."

Yeesha giggled at Atrus's scolding _"Yee_ sha!"

"At least _try_ to talk it out first?" Atrus plead, trying to keep himself from laughing as well.

"Okay, fine," Yeesha conceded, drawing out the words as she said them. Then, quickly and full of mischief, "but I'm still hitting them if they don't listen."

Atrus sighed, exasperated and amused in equal measure. He wouldn't have expected anything less.


End file.
